2014 Agenda

Agenda of the Fourth BIRN Summer School, with all scheduled activities and lecturers.

BIRN Summer School August 24 – 30, 2014

Arrival: Sunday, August 24, 2014Venue: Hotel Tara, Becici, Montenegro

21:00Welcome and Introductory Dinner – Lead trainer Paul Lewis, Washington correspondent for the Guardian, Christian Spahr director for the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Media Program South East Europe and Gordana Igric, BIRN Regional Director.

Monday, 25 August

DAY 1: Thinking like an investigative reporter/ Investigative mind set

9:00 - 9:30

Opening and Introduction and Overview of The Training Programme - lead trainer Paul Lewis Introduction of trainers and participants; Presenting training agenda; What participants should expect and what is expected of them

9:30 – 11:00

How should investigative reporters think? – lead trainer Paul LewisThis session will use the case study of an investigation into surveillance cameras to focus on the importance of asking the right questions.

11: 00 - 11:15

Coffee

11:15 – 11:45

Case study: Presentation of Summer School Investigative Fund story

11:45 – 13.15

Online profile: Using the Web to search for data – Marcus Lindemann Finding information online by linking real names to online identities; Looking for hidden information in documents; Using social media to find private information

Using Freedom of Information Laws in Europe – Helen Darbishire, Access Info EuropePractical work and examples

12: 00 – 13:30

Using public records: Tracking companies - Paul Radu, OCCRP and Investigative DashboardOffshore companies are not always based on tropical islands; think Austria, Delaware, US, and London. How to uncover the secrets held in tax havens?

13:30 - 15:00

Lunch

15:00 - 16:30

How to protect data and sources / How to handle sources - Miranda PatrucicInvestigative journalists need to take care of sources and data more than they think

16:30 - 16:45Coffee

16:45-18:15

Online strategies: Going beyond Google's advanced search – Marcus Lindemann Working to find solutions for unsolved web searches; How to build search macros and customize Google into one's own search engine. The seminar will also cover how to save and organise information found online

Wednesday, 27 August

DAY 3: Investigative interview

9:30 - 11:00

Cultivating Sources and Making People Talk - Paul LewisThis session will use a two-year investigation into undercover policing to get participants thinking about source-cultivation. There will be role-play.

Online strategies: Finding traces online and introduction to Excel – Marcus Lindemann Where to pick up and follow traces. How to monitor websites (and the web) and access sites that have been deleted or changed; Examine data by using simple functions in Excel; Help participants work on strategies for their research

20:00

Dinner at Hotel

Thursday, 28 August

DAY 4

9:30 - 11:00

Social Media and Crowdsourced Investigations; Ian Tomlinson to Jimmy Mubenga - Paul LewisHow can reporters exploit the emerging world of collaborative reporting? This session will reveal the possibilities afforded by social media - particularly Twitter - for investigative journalism.

Friday, 29 August

Groups present their story ideas; participants critique and discuss the story proposals in terms of: relevance, significance, feasibility, methodological rigour and public interest.

14:00 – 15:00Lunch

15:00 – 20:00Free time/Field trip

20:00 - 23:00

Farewell dinner and award ceremony with Paul Lewis, lead trainer, Christian Spahr, director of Media Program South East Europe of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and Gordana Igric, BIRN Regional Director.